A Delhi court has called activist Sharjeel Imam “one of the kingpins” of a “larger conspiracy” to incite violence in 2019 during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the national capital, Live Law reported on Monday.
Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket Court made the statement on March 7 while framing charges against Imam and 10 others.
The case pertains to the violence that had erupted at the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on December 15, 2019, during a students’ protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Imam has been accused of making allegedly seditious speeches at the university in 2019.
On March 7, the court noted that Imam had argued he was neither part of the “unlawful assembly that committed rioting on 15/12/2019, nor did he incite the public persons to engage in violent activities” by a speech he had given during the protests, reported Maktoob Media.
The judge said that Imam could not be charged for an offence under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code in the case as it would violate the principle of double jeopardy, which mandates that no person can be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code criminalises the promotion of enmity between groups based on religion, race, language, or other factors.
However, the judge said that Imam’s speech “provoked and incited” the Muslim community.
“Indeed, being a senior PhD student, accused Sharjeel Imam craftily clothed his speech in which he avoided the mention of communities other than the Muslim community, but the intended victims of chakka jaam were members of communities other than the Muslim community,” Maktoob Media quoted Singh as saying.
He added: “Why, otherwise, accused Sharjeel Imam incited only the members of the Muslim religion to disrupt the normal functioning of society.”
Apart from Imam, the court framed charges against Asif Iqbal Tanha, Ashu Khan, Chandan Kumar, Anal Hussain, Anwar, Yunus, Jumman, Rana, Mohd Harun and Mohd Furkan. It acquitted 15 others in the case.
Regarding Imam’s speech, the judge said it was calculated to evoke anger and hatred. The natural consequence of this was the commission of widespread violence by members of unlawful assembly on public roads, added Singh.
The speech was “venomous” and pitted one religion against another, Singh was quoted as saying by Live Law. It was, indeed, a hate speech, he added.
“Secondly, an accused who openly invoked feeling of anger and hatred in the mind of Muslim community and instigated them to cause mass scale disruption in public life in multiple cities of northern India through chakka jaam could not be heard arguing that the rioting committed by mob on public roads was not intended consequence of his speech and he could not be fastened with criminal liability for the same,” the court said in its order.
A chakka jam is the complete stoppage of public movement.
The court that nothing could be peaceful about a chakka jaam and that it results in the violation of fundamental right to life and health of public.
“Even if the mob does not indulge in violence and arsony while enforcing chakka jaam, it would still be a violent act by one section of society against the other,” it added.
The court charged Imam under provisions of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to abetment, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, rioting, obstructing a public servant, assaulting a public servant, and other sections related to violence and property damage, Maktoob Media reported.
Sections of the Public Property Damage Prevention Act were also invoked.
During the 2019 violence, the Delhi Police was accused of barging into the university campus and using excessive force to quell the demonstrations. The police had claimed that their action was justified as the protestors had allegedly injured their personnel and set buses on fire.
It was also alleged that around 41 vehicles were damaged during the protests due to the hurling of stones and unlawful assembly.
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